The second stage of the competition ended, with a total of six teams advancing.

The popularity of the competition increased day by day, and by the day of the finals, even before the match started, the number of viewers in the Heavenly Dao Livestream had already exceeded 300,000.

Unlike the previous two stages, the six teams would compete in the same arena.

Therefore, all spectators appeared in the same viewing area.

At this moment, the scale of the arena was immense, bustling with people everywhere, lively and truly spectacular.

In a corner of the Loose Cultivator viewing area.

"The match is about to start, aren't you going to place a bet, brother?"

"What bet?"

"Fellow Daoist, you must not know! A new Illusion Realm came out a few days ago, specifically for placing bets! I bet on the Lingxiao Sect to take first place a few days ago, and I earned quite a lot of Spirit Stones~"

"Betting on the Lingxiao Sect to take first? Who would bet on other teams... is there any profit in that?"

"There are always fools in this world... earning a little is better than nothing, Fellow Daoist, don't turn your nose up at it!"

"That's true... What's this Illusion Realm called? I'll go place a bet too!"

Blood Crow and Rakshasa, both wearing masks, looked at each other in confusion.

"Did you arrange for these shills?"

"No..."

The two looked at each other, speechless.

They had planned to come early to promote this gambling den Illusion Realm to others.

They hadn't expected that someone else had already done it...

And more than one person?

"It's strange... Has the atmosphere in the cultivation world suddenly become so good?"

Rakshasa rubbed his chin, unable to help but mutter to himself.

In such situations, wouldn't people usually keep ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) quiet and make a fortune, rather than finding others to bet with them?

Rakshasa and Blood Crow had a purpose for wanting to do so.

But what were these people, who were working for free, doing?

Calling others to split their own money?

"I don't know."

Blood Crow shook his head, his eyes still filled with resentment.

"Tell me... this time we'll definitely make a comeback, you aren't lying to this old man, are you?"

"No lying, absolutely no lying!"

Rakshasa waved his hands hurriedly.

The last time the two were defeated by Lu Ze, Blood Crow had exhausted all his family wealth and was now at the end of his rope.

If not for the Heart Demon stepping in, Blood Crow would have already been killed by Rakshasa.

Now, Blood Crow pestered Rakshasa for debt repayment every day.

Rakshasa's meager savings couldn't compare to Blood Crow's, and even if he put it all in, it was still far from enough.

But he quickly found an opportunity,

That was the recently opened gambling den Illusion Realm.

Everyone knew that whichever team Li Moran was on, that team had a high win rate.

Added to that was another top expert, Zhou Yue, as a teammate.

With two great experts escorting them, victory was a sure thing.

Placing first in the second stage was the best proof.

Except for those gambling addicts whose eyes were red with loss, almost no one would bet on other teams for first place.

However,

Rakshasa and Blood Crow had inside information that only an Illusion Alliance Elder would know—

The Alliance Leader's improved Ten Directions Spirit-Descending Array was complete.

And they had already found 3 Loose Cultivators who could light the Spirit Lamps; the strongest one could already light the ninth Spirit Lamp!

This meant that even if Li Moran and Zhou Yue joined forces, they would be no match!

First place would definitely belong to 【Last Twilight】!

Rakshasa came up with a plan for Blood Crow:

The odds were at their Peak right now, and if they bet all their assets on 【Last Twilight】, they could definitely make a comeback in one go and earn back everything they had lost before!

"Can... can it work?"

Having experienced the bloody lesson of bankruptcy once, Blood Crow was a bit hesitant.

"How could it not work? You don't know the Alliance Leader's methods? That Li Moran and Zhou Yue are definitely no match!"

Rakshasa guaranteed confidently.

"But there's still Lu Ze..."

Before Blood Crow could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Rakshasa.

"Lu Ze? Elder Blood Crow must not have been following this competition at all... Lu Ze has no real strength, he only knows how to use underhanded tricks, there's no need to be afraid!"

After saying that, he added:

"The Alliance Leader said that once the sixth Spirit Lamp is lit, whether it's footwork or backstabbing, it will be detected in advance... That brat Lu Ze is nothing to fear!"

Blood Crow pondered for a moment, thinking of the Alliance Leader's methods, and finally gritted his teeth: "Fine, then let's go now and put all our assets on 【Last Twilight】!"

Lingxiao Sect.

Zhou Yue and Li Moran were preparing for battle in Lu Ze's Lingyu Pavilion, currently practicing shooting in the Illusion Realm.

"Strange..."

Lu Ze, who was AFK, suddenly frowned and muttered to himself.

"What is it, Junior Brother Lu?"

Zhou Yue asked curiously.

"It's nothing."

Lu Ze shook his head, then said:

"Senior Brother Zhou, do you know what kind of background the people from 【Last Twilight】 have?"

"Not sure, heard they are three Loose Cultivators who take on guardian jobs... Why are you asking about this suddenly?"

Zhou Yue answered while covering for his teammates.

Lu Ze: "Nothing, their strength looks decent, be careful during the match later."

Zhou Yue laughed: "Haha, don't worry, Junior Brother Lu, with me and Junior Sister Li here, we won't get wiped out!"

Li Moran frowned.

She looked at Lu Ze, vaguely feeling that Lu Ze had sensed something.

Lu Ze returned a smile and didn't say more, so Li Moran didn't ask further.

At this moment, Lu Ze's Divine Sense was in another Illusion Realm called "Las Vegas Gambling Den."

This was an Illusion Realm he had created under an anonymous identity.

Seeing the betting pool for the Heavenly Dao competition getting bigger and bigger, it wouldn't be long before someone opened a casino within an Illusion Realm.

Lu Ze decided to strike first and seize the gambling den market.

Anyway, no one would complain about earning too many Spirit Stones.

Today, he had arranged for many shills to promote the gambling den Illusion Realm everywhere, with the goal of increasing the number of users and earning more service fees.

Unexpectedly...

Just before the match was about to start, a large amount of Spirit Stones were suddenly bet on the team 【Last Twilight】!

This made Lu Ze realize something was wrong.

No one would be stupid enough to throw so much money into the water.

Gambling addicts who had lost until their eyes were red couldn't possibly have this many Spirit Stones...

Then there was only one answer.

The bettors were certain that 【Last Twilight】 would win!

The competition hosted by the Fragment of the Heavenly Dao indeed had generous rewards, and it would certainly make all parties envious.

It wouldn't be surprising if they used any kind of method.

Lu Ze vaguely had a feeling,

The 【Last Twilight】 team was not as easy to deal with as imagined.

The three of them hadn't finished their match when the competition entered the preparation stage.

The three hurried to exit the match and enter the Heavenly Dao competition mode.

There were six teams in the finals.

Each team had an initial fund of 5 million, with the first and second place teams having an additional 2 million and 1 million respectively.

"We have 7 million to start with, enough for the three of us to get full gear."

Zhou Yue looked at such substantial assets and felt much more at ease.

"For the first round, let's test the waters with four sets."

Lu Ze smiled and suggested.

"Anyway, the map is Bakshi, there aren't many long-range scenarios, and a single gun is enough... What do you think?"

Li Moran looked at Lu Ze in surprise.

This was the first time since Lu Ze joined the team that he had offered a suggestion before a battle.

Without thinking too much, she nodded.

"Four sets of single guns? Being this cautious?"

Zhou Yue was startled, threw the five sets he had just bought back into the warehouse, and agreed:

"Sure, I'll listen to everything Junior Brother Lu says... Huh? Junior Brother Lu, are you actually bringing five sets?"

"The five sets are for you two to carry."

Lu Ze yawned.

"This round, I'll drop and grenade myself, testing you two... Don't let me down."

"Damn! What kind of talk is that? Double knockdown counts as bombing the squad, alright!"

Zhou Yue slapped his chest and said confidently.

Lu Ze blinked, vaguely feeling that the other party had been possessed by Zhong Yi...